Religious Scholar

Our home teachers were coming over Saturday morning and I was giving a serious lecture to Kate and Kiki about appropriate behavior. Last month was pretty rough. I was saying, "...and if they ask you something, ANSWER! Don't just make weird noises or ignore them." Kate said, "What if I don't know the answer?" To which Kiki replied,

"Look. You just say, 'Because Jesus was born.'"

Uncles.

I've had uncles on my mind the past while.

My Uncle Jerry Barratt passed away last week. Jerry was affectionately known as "Uncle Swear-y" or "Uncle Bad Mouth" by us. He definitely had a profane streak but more importantly, he was a kind and a decent man. His health had been declining in the past few years, but I don't know that the blow of his death was cushioned any by that.

I believe he is in a better place.

Bruce's best friend came to visit us last week. Rob and Bruce have been tight since their mission 20 years ago, so he is "Uncle Rob" to the girls.

We took him to the church history museum.

The girls seemed to like learning a little about the history of the Church.

They practiced their preaching.

Then Maggie turned the Nephites into cross-dressers.

Some might argue that the Lamanites were actually the cross-dressers, but I don't have time to discuss theology right now.

We also worshipped at the altar of Crown Burger.

Kate and Kiki love their Uncle Dave.

Mainly because when he's around, things like this happen:

Also, Uncle Dave has the added bonus of usually including Aunt Jill.

Last, Bruce's Uncle Richard passed away a few weeks ago. He was Bruce's father's only brother, and Bruce and I had the chance to visit him a couple of years ago in Maryland.

My favorite story about Uncle Richard is this:

While Bruce and I were staying with him, we got into a discussion about the afterlife. Richard was not a religious man at all. Bruce was teasing him a little and said, "Richard, if I die first, I'm going to make sure you hear from me so that you know I was right about heaven." Richard replied, "And if I die first, if you DON'T hear from me, you'll know I was right."

We haven't been haunted by Uncle Richard, so I guess I should steel myself for the old "Fade to Black."

Canyonlands Half Marathon

Today Bruce ran the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab. Four other friends were running so we traveled together.

Last night's pre-race pasta dinner:

Scott, Steph, Mark, Chris, and Anne

Dear Jill, When I took this picture, I really thought you weren't in it. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

Bruce, Becca, Craig, Jaime, and Jill

Packet Pick Up

Ferocious Competitors.

After the racers got their packets, we went for cakes and cones.

When you travel with friends, you learn their true colors, which is why the caption for this shot is:

"Liar, Thief, and Butt-er"

This morning was chilly but the racers were ready.

Bruce was running and I was the supportive spouse.

I think we both did an excellent job.

Chris finished strong.

Notice, though, that he was edged out by a man wearing a hot pink wig and matching knee socks.
Bruce looked great crossing the finish line.

He was really craving a banana.

I'm so proud of Jaime- this was her first half marathon (and her first real race) ever, and she did great!

Craig thinks runners are crazy but that didn't stop him from cheering extra loud.

Steph and Jill

After the race there was nothing to do but consume mass quantities of Mexican food and head home. I think a good time was had by all.

Kate's First Piano Recital

Thirty Years Earlier.

Same piano though.

Kate had her first piano recital last Saturday. She was going to play "Puff the Magic Dragon," even though her teacher had suggested "In the Hall of the Mountain King." She was a little resistant to that, so we were sticking with Puff. But, a week before the concert, right as we were heading out of town, she decided that she DID want to play both songs. So Steph ran the music over and she practiced and practiced all week long.

Here she is warming up.

Here is the actual performance.

The nerves definitely got to her! She had played her song perfect so many times before but as she said after, "All I could think was, 'This is so many people!'"

I was so proud of her! I was proud of all my students, but let's openly admit that it's different when it's your own child. She is doing such a great job with piano. I am grateful for her good teacher and I'm grateful that she really seems to understand music. I was also grateful when the recital was over with and I was eating Asphalt Pie next door at Winger's.

Re: Kiki

Kiki said today, "My name's not Kiki."

And I thought, "At last we've figured that out."

Then she said, "Because my name is 'Lightning.'"

Someday I'm going to have to break it to her that her name is Margaret.

We ate school lunch with Kate today. Dessert was a fortune cookie. Kiki's fortune said, "Be prepared to execute your ideas." "Holy ****," was all I could say.

Here is Kiki in her homemade penguin costume.

It's actually quite creative.

Maggie loves to swing. Check out the video here.

Action Must Be Taken

I can't wallow for long, first, because of my nice friends who boost me up, and second, because it's not in my nature and I get tired of eating cookies and feeling bad. So I decided to take action.

First, my running friends and I scheduled a 12 miler for Saturday morning. Yes, on foot. My house, 7 a.m. if you want to come. I'm feeling better already.

Second, with the encouragement of my sister, I called an accomplished pianist we went to school with for a referral for a piano teacher. She kindly returned my call with the name and number of a woman she went to school with. I called this woman, Elaine's her name, and we had the nicest chat. I just told her that I was a teacher myself, but wasn't feeling so secure about my own skills, and was really wanting some feedback and help to restore my confidence. Elaine said she had five slots opening in June, so I said I'd love one, and Elaine kindly informed my that it didn't work that way, that I would have to audition for a spot, and was I free the following morning for said audition? My mouth said "Yes" but my brain said"What the hell are you thinking? You have nothing performance ready. This will not go well." I was a nervous wreck all day. When I met Elaine in person, she was as delightful in real life as on the phone, and long story short: She agreed to teach me and she's not even making me wait until June. I start April 6 and I cried real tears because I was so grateful and happy.

Liza and I chatted soon after, and I realized that my frustration with life was coming from feeling thwarted and stuck in my personal growth. It's funny because we both agreed that being runners has opened our lives up in unexpected ways: When I first started running I just though it would be good exercise and that was all I expected from it, but as I got faster and started going longer, this light bulb slowly went on for me that just because I am getting on in years doesn't mean I'm through cultivating my talents. And succeeding in running gave me an unexpected gift: It gave me permission to be dissatisfied with other parts of my life, because I knew I could take action and change it. The seeds of discontent with piano have been growing for a while. While I am a somewhat successful piano teacher, it's been mostly because I'm a good teacher, not because I'm necessarily an awesome pianist. I'm decent, don't get me wrong, but I don't want to just be decent anymore- I want to push myself beyond what I have thought is possible for myself. One of the first things Elaine said to me yesterday was that I should be playing much harder music than I was, and she isolated a technique issue that I knew I had but didn't know how to fix, and she promised me she could make a difference. They were the words of an angel, because that's exactly what I wanted for myself. I'm so excited and rejuvenated.

Last, I was on Amazon this morning ordering a couple of books Elaine wanted me to have, and I ordered a cookbook on sauces. In fact, the title is "Sauces." Now, I'm really going to start nerding out here, but I have an obsession with pan sauces, namely how to make them.

So the next time we hang out, I'm going to run a half marathon, then play you a song, then cook you something delicious.